Lesson 6: Paraphase by Using Definitions

This is Lesson 6 of the Paraphrase Writing e-course, the final activity in this e-course. In this lesson, you will paraphrase sentences by removing words and replacing them with their definitions. Here is an example.

The judge’s verdict surprised everyone in the courtroom.

The judge’s final decision surprised everyone in the courtroom.

This is an easy example. We put the definition in the sentence and no other changes were needed.

The Writing Details

Sometimes, you have to change the sentence to make the definition work properly. Watch out for prepositions, for instance. Here is an example.

Parents opposed to after-school programs should not have to pay for these services if their children do not attend those classes.

Parents against after-school programs should not have to pay for these services if their children do not attend those classes.

In the first sentence, the key words are ‘opposed to.’ In the second sentence, we replaced the key words with ‘against.’ Notice that we don’t need the preposition ‘to’ in the second sentence. That is an example of the details you need to watch out for when paraphrasing with meanings.

Learn the Key Vocabulary

You can download the paraphrase worksheet here. But first, spend time with the dictionary to learn these words and phrases.

aggravate

decline

motives

predict

bias

forensics

negative consequences

proposal

cartons

gap

per capita

reforms

culprits

gross domestic product

perform rites

strong demand

exploit

indicate

persist

skeptical

Download the Writing Worksheets

Download the worksheets here. It is a three-page activity sheet (A4 page size) with suggested answers at the back.